%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1385863873049047700%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.%%[[quoteright:350:[[Series/TheSarahConnorChronicles http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cromartie-transformation-edit-border-fixed_1047.png]]]][[caption-width-right:350:What you can do when your flesh is purely cosmetic.]]

Some element of a show's AppliedPhlebotinum causes a character's appearance, voice, and sometimes even their personality to change completely. On Speculative Fiction shows, this can be almost anything. On real-world shows, this is almost always MagicPlasticSurgery -- which, on TV, works much better than it does in reality.

This is a catch-all for the recasting of a character using an in-continuity explanation. It takes its name from ''Series/DoctorWho'', whose eponymous Doctor is an alien capable of "regenerating" into a new form whenever he is mortally wounded. This trope, both in the original show and others which employ it, has two benefits; not only can it increase the series' run, it is also a wonderful way to derive drama. With the added bonus of implying that AnyoneCanDie, without having to lose major characters.

Compare to: SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute (which introduces a totally new character much like the old one), TheOtherDarrin (where the actor is replaced without an in-universe explanation), and LegacyCharacter (which introduces a different character to the "title" of the previous character). See also DyingToBeReplaced (which this can consist of if, like in the trope naming example, the process analogises to the death of the original) and ReplacementScrappy, which can be a reaction.

''This is a casting trope, not a reincarnation trope. This trope only requires the recasting to be explained in-universe, not necessarily by reincarnation.''----!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:{{Anime}}]]* In the English dub of ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist: Brotherhood'', when the [[OurHomunculiAreDifferent homunculus]] Greed was [[spoiler:reabsorbed into Father then brought back into a new body]] he changed voice actor from Christopher Patton to Troy Baker. Said plot element was in the manga long before the story was adapted into animation and dubbed into English (both had the same voice in the Japanese version) but the timing seems to imply this trope. * Similarly, ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'', when Satoshi/Ash upgrades his Pokedex from Professor Orchid/Oak, he's told that it will also have a new voice, but only in the dub.* In the Japanese dub of ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}'', [[BigBad Naraku]] was originally voiced by Hiroshi Yanaka in his early appearances. At the end of the anime's first season he takes over the body of a prince named Kagewaki, upon doing so he is voiced by Creator/ToshiyukiMorikawa for the rest of the series' run.[[/folder]]

[[folder:{{Film}}]]* ''[[Film/{{War}} Rogue Assassin]]'' had the whole point of the mystery of the eponymous Assassin having plastic surgery to remain unknown. [[spoiler:We don't actually see any of the eponymous Assassin's face and instead the one we THINK is the Assassin was actually his last target who took over his identity.]]* ''Film/TheMatrixRevolutions'': Mary Alice replaced Gloria Foster as The Oracle because the character's appearance had changed due to The Merovingian being given her "termination code". In reality, this was an ad hoc handwave made up by the writers because Gloria Foster had died.* [[HeathLedger Heath Ledger's]] [[AuthorExistenceFailure death]] was dealt with in his unfinished movie ''Film/TheImaginariumOfDoctorParnassus'' this way. JohnnyDepp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell played his character in different dimensions.* Parodied in the animated film ''Disney/{{Bolt}}''. [[spoiler:When Penny decides to quit acting, the TV show she works for replaces her and explains her change in appearance as the result of reconstructive plastic surgery. Not explained, though, was her sudden de-aging, as she is shorter and has not gone through puberty like the original Penny.]]* Parodied in the 2008 ''Film/GetSmart'' movie. Agent 99 (Creator/AnneHathaway) is shown to have undertaken extensive plastic surgery after her cover was blown. She used to look like a 40 year old blond woman. Now, she's a brunette in her mid-twenties.* Terry O'Quinn declined reprising the role as the eponymous AxCrazy in ''[[Film/TheStepfather Stepfather III]]'' and was replaced Robert Wightman; the change in appearance is dealt with via a {{Squick}}y [[BackalleyDoctor backalley]] [[MagicPlasticSurgery plastic surgery scene]] at the beginning of the film.* Blofeld, arch-nemesis of Film/JamesBond is a villainous example. He was played by several actors over the years, with his changes of appearance being explained by plastic surgery. Somewhat justified in that if anyone has the money to be able to employ a [[MagicPlasticSurgery magic plastic surgeon]] it's Blofeld.** Bond himself is generally not thought of as an example since the films don't explain his change in appearance. However, in the first movie where Bond's actor changed, the film begins with Bond being rejected by a woman. He then remarks "this never happened to the other fellow!" Some fans have taken this as evidence for the theory that "James Bond" is an alias passed from one 007 agent to the next.** The producers of ''Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService'' did briefly consider the plastic surgery idea for Bond, but (wisely for the long run) dropped the idea.** ''Film/DieAnotherDay'' was supposed to make this theory canon, but ExecutiveMeddling stopped that plan.** As was ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'' until further ExecutiveMeddling nixed that idea (Craig's Bond has Connery's Bond car, all other agents use pseudonyms except 007). [[MindScrew Which raises more questions than it answers, really...]]* Jobe Smith was played by Jeff Fahey in ''Film/TheLawnmowerMan'' and Matt Frewer in ''Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace''. The clever rationale is that the explosion at the end of the first film badly burned him, and so he looked different after his face was reconstructed using skin grafts.** Less clever when, in the ending of the original film, PierceBrosnan's character discovered that Jobe had completely uploaded himself into the mainframe, leaving only his skin behind in the real world.* {{Manga/Tomie}} from the live action adaptations of Creator/JunjiIto's comic of the same name is this. Due to cloning and regeneration no two Tomie's look alike.[[/folder]]

[[folder:LiveActionTV]]* The TropeNamer is the Doctor in ''Series/DoctorWho'', as mentioned above. It has its [[TheNthDoctor/DoctorWho own page]].* On ''{{Sliders}}'', Quinn Mallory's replacement by his non-identical counterpart from another universe, when Jerry O'Connell left the show, is half this and half SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute.** On the other hand, third-season BigBad Rickman is replaced by a new actor after his first appearance, and this is explained as a side-effect of his vampiric medical condition: in his first appearance, his facial features change momentarily whenever he injects brain tissue from his victims. This transformation turns out to have a small but cumulative permanent effect as well. In reality, Roger Daltrey was simply too expensive to keep on as a recurring character.** They actually almost never refer to the replacement as "Quinn" or "Q-Ball" (Rembrandt's nickname for the original). Instead, it's always "Mallory". He doesn't seem to mind.** However, before she warmed up to the gang, Maggie called Quinn "Mallory." As she [[DefrostingIceQueen defrosts]] she gets to FirstNameBasis. Now she gets to go back to calling him "Mallory" despite being on friendlier terms.* On ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'': Replacement of voice actors/puppeteers for the robots, as in most puppetry and animation, was usually unexplained. However, the difference in Tom Servo's voice from one actor to another was so severe, that it was given an on-screen nod as Joel replaced Servo's voice module. Similarly, in the eighth season Crow T. Robot was the only one who'd stayed on the satellite for five-hundred-odd years, and thus had gone slightly mad; any other vocal differences were given a HandWave in the tenth season when Joel (appearing as TheCameo) suggested that Crow had replaced the bowling pin that formed his mouth.** This was also lampshaded in episode 905, where Mike cut himself on Crow, becoming a Were-Crow. In giving Mike the rundown of what being Crow would entail, Crow mentioned that "your voice is gonna change inexplicably every seven years or so."*** This was also joked about in an interview with Bill Corbett where he explained his initial lack of puppetry skills (as compared to Trace Beaulieu) by stating that "Crow had a stroke."* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' replaced Terry Farrell as Jadzia Dax with Nicole de Boer as Ezri Dax. It was already a well established part of the show's {{canon}} that the character of "Dax" was a symbiote that attached itself to a new humanoid host, thus explaining the new face and somewhat-different personality.** This replacement is also a partial SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute, since the show established that while the symbiote carried its memories from host to host, the hosts themselves were distinct individuals with their own personalities.** Interestingly, the episode "The Host" from ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' plays this trope completely straight with regard to the Trill symbiotes; however, as a result it contradicts greatly with ''Deep Space Nine'''s portrayal.** The Borg Queen's hard to tell. She appears to be destroyed in almost every appearance - even by way of ''retcon,'' revealing herself to have been on the cube in The Best Of Both Worlds. Yes, her ''debut'' is an UnexplainedRecovery. She's indicated and proven repeatedly that physical death is a minor inconvenience to her, and it's easy to imagine that her data just goes elsewhere when one body's in mortal danger, though that's not said outright. Coincidentally or not, she's sometimes Alice Krige and sometimes Susanna Thompson, and with so much make-up it's hard to tell who is who.* In ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', the recurring character Morgan Edge is initially played by Rutger Hauer, and after a near-fatal accident and MagicPlasticSurgery, he is played by Patrick Bergen, leading to this priceless quote:-->'''Lex Luthor''': You can change your face, your hair, your voice... but not your DNA. You still sweat the same.* In Series 1 and 2 of ''Series/MyParentsAreAliens'', Sophie Johnson was played by blonde Barbara Durkin. From Series 3 onwards, she was played by brown-haired Carla Mendonša, having 'got stuck' morphed that way.* Holly, the A.I. from ''Series/RedDwarf'', became a female character at the end of series 2 and stayed female for the next three series, before later switching back to male.** Less noticeable was the recasting of the android Kryten (with Robert Llewellyn replacing David Ross, who originally was to return but was unavailable). This was mainly achieved when the look of the series was entirely redesigned, with a greatly improved budget allowing for better costumes and prosthetics, plus the fact that Kryten was only in one episode previously. Llewellyn played the part very differently, with this being explained in an OpeningScroll as Lister rebuilding him but being unable to restore his personality, this was further explored in Series VIII Episode 2 "Back in the Red: Part 2" when Kryten's behaviour is 'reset' and his actions and mannerism noticeable revert to the 'Ross' Kryten (before being restored to his old new self).* British children's comedy ''MikeAndAngelo'' had Angelo - an alien - go through a regeneration process into another actor that was a direct reference to ''Series/DoctorWho''.* ''Series/BabylonFive'':** Inverted at the end of Season 1. Delenn uses an ancient machine to transform herself into a being with both human and Minbari characteristics, radically changing her appearance, but is still played by the same actress.** ''Babylon 5'' also messed with the trope in a couple other ways. When the first actor to play Draal was unable to return due to illness, a new one was cast, the difference being remarked upon by Sheridan. Delenn replies that the Great Machine had restored to him his youth and appearance of thirty years prior. When the original actress to play [[spoiler:Anna Sheridan]] was unavailable, they recast her with [[spoiler:the real-life wife of the actor playing her onscreen husband]], and although the backstory involved would have made it ridiculously easy to hand-wave the change in appearance, they instead played it as TheOtherDarrin. Fortunately, it was easy not to notice that it was a different actress.*** Helped that they had a convenient replay of the only scene [[spoiler: Anna Sheridan]] had been in, with the new actor instead of the old. JMS ALMOST did an OrwellianRetcon on DVD. ** The characters migrate with actor availability as well... Carolyn Sykes becomes Catherine Sakai, becomes Anna Sheridan. JS becomes JS. Rather like the senior telepath/s and the second/s in command.* The death of Philip Gilbert shortly into Creator/BigFinish's ''Series/TheTomorrowPeople'' line was framed by having TIM require some repair work after damage received in Gilbert's last episode. John had to rebuild TIM's voice synthesizer, and couldn't quite reproduce the original voice. Gilbert's other recurring roles (He also voiced a family of clones on whose voice TIM had been modeled) were not so lucky, and became {{Fake Shemp}}s.* In ''{{Lexx}}'', the change from Zev Bellringer to Xev Bellringer was explained via the former dying and melting into a puddle of goo, from which the latter was incarnated via the sacrifice of a few hapless astronauts. The reason given for her being so different in behavior and appearance after the resurrection is that the alien who brought her back was working from the imperfect memories of Zev's friends. It's worth noting that Xev still appears to have all of Zev's original memories, and is still part cluster-lizard due to Zev's botched love-slave transformation. Also, in a later episode Xev is briefly reverted to her original "ugly Zev" body, but later restored to Xev.* In ''Series/{{Beetleborgs}}'', Jo becomes the victim of a botched magical spell that alters her face from that of Shannon Chandler to that of Brittany Konarzewski. The change is permanent but a new spell makes everyone but the other heroes (and the viewer, of course) see her old face.* Subverted in a HUGE way by the Australian lifestyle show parody ''Series/LifeSupport''. In Season 3, Doctor Rudi changed actors, from Simon Van Der Stap to Jack Finsterer. However, it turned out that this new Dr Rudi, who had allegedly had MagicPlasticSurgery, was actually an impostor, and the old Dr Rudi was out for revenge. it culminated in [[spoiler:a fist-fight between the Rudis at the new Dr Rudi and Sigourney's wedding.]]* On ''Series/AlloAllo'', Herr Flick was played by Richard Gibson until series 9, when he was replaced by David Janson. To explain the change in actors (who looked NOTHING alike) Herr Flick had plastic surgery to radically alter his appearance so he would not be captured by Allied forces.* Used for numerous minor characters on ''Series/StargateSG1'', but this is an [[JustifiedTrope acceptable technique]] as the characters themselves are parasitic aliens (Goa'uld or Tok'ra) living in changable human hosts.* Used in ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' for [[spoiler: Elizabeth Weir. Previously played by Torri Higginson, Weir returned first as a faceless, fuzzy-voiced VirtualGhost, who then built herself a replicator body played by Michelle Morgan, who had in the previous season played F.R.A.N., a replicator [=McKay=] made. This allowed them to explain that to save time, Weir simply used the last template in the replicator machine, rather than try to remake her own appearance from scratch]].** Interestingly, [[spoiler: Elizabeth Weir was also a TheOtherDarrin, played by Jessica Steen in the ''Series/StargateSG1'' episode "The Lost City", before becoming a lead character on ''Series/StargateAtlantis'', played by Torri Higginson]].* German 90's TV show ''Balko'' used this. After the first actor Jochen Horst playing the main character left, the next season started with a near fatal car accident, forcing the till then unseen character to undergo plastic surgery, turning him into new actor Bruno Eyron (among the possible new faces given to choose from was also a famous German shepherd dog, 'Kommisar Rex').* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': Demons can possess different human bodies, so any demon character can be played by more than one actor. It happened with Lilith in Season 3 and 4, and then with [[spoiler: Ruby/"Kristy"]] between seasons 3 and 4.** It also occurred with villains Azazel and Alastair, and the possibility exists for this to happen with the angels as well. However, it's explicitly avoided with the character of Anna, whose human body was destroyed when she became an angel again, but replaced with an identical one as she'd become attached to it and and arranged for it to be remade.** The angels don't just switch bodies, they also don't care about the sex of their physical vessels. Castiel's alternative vessel was a 12 year old girl, Lucifer appeared as a woman in both Sam and Nick's dreams, and [[spoiler: Raphael's second vessel was female]]. Fan theories vary on whether angels simply don't recognize gender in the way humans do or if they have a particular gender preference. But whatever you do, [[InternetBackdraft don't bring up the question of what this means for the hetero/homosexuality of ships involving angels]].** Meg has also gone through several, including Sam's.** The difference with demons is that they used to be human, so they understand gender perfectly well.* The Terminator known as Cromartie is reduced to a metal skeleton in the first episode of ''TheSarahConnorChronicles'', and slowly creates a new flesh covering for himself over the course of the first season, being played by a second actor in the interim stages, and a third actor once the work is complete.* Trance from ''Series/{{Andromeda}}'' is interesting in that it was to change her ''makeup design'' instead of her actress. Part way through season two she's replaced with a future version of herself who looks completely different (even having a different ''skin colour''), but she's still the same actress behind the makeup.** She still does act fairly differently however (presumably due to her being older and more mature than her previous self).** Indeed, the change is so convincing, and done in such a way that is ''seems'' like a straight-up example of the trope, you really have to go over the credits to convince yourself it's the same actress!* Shapeshifter [[Series/{{Heroes}} Candice's]] favourite form was originally played by Missy Peregrym, but in her brief appearance in season 2 she had decided to change identities, and her new preferred form was Rachel Kimsey.* Most SoapOpera actor changes are simply TheOtherDarrin (or the result of SoapOperaRapidAgingSyndrome for the younger set), but occasionally they can be Nth Doctors. Example: Jerry Jacks of ''GeneralHospital'' had his MagicPlasticSurgery turn him from Julian Stone to Sebastian Roche...and it was good enough for him to successfully use an alias for a few months.** One of the most infamous (and convoluted) versions of this occurred on ''Series/DaysOfOurLives'': When Wayne Northrop - the actor portraying Roman Brady - left the show in 1984, his character was PutOnABus via [=shooting/=][[NeverFoundTheBody body snatching]]. Two years later, the younger, taller Drake Hogestyn took over the role. Playing this trope straight, they [[HandWave explained his physical differences]] by plastic surgery needed to recover from the injuries suffered at the hands of [[BigBad Stefano DiMera]]. Then Northrop returned four years after that... ''as Roman Brady''. He'd been held prisoner by DiMera, while DiMera sent brainwashed mercenary John Black (who, in an extra dash of Soap Operaness, turned out to be Stefano's half-brother) to take over Roman's life and be his spy ([[BecomingTheMask That didn't work so well for Stefano]]). But Northrop only stuck around three more years before leaving again. This time they went straight TheOtherDarrin and brought in Josh Taylor to play Roman (and has since 1997).*** Parodied on {{Friends}} (and crossing over with TheBusCameBack) where ''Series/DaysOfOurLives'' exists as a ShowWithinAShow when Joey is brought back to the show by having his character (who had been in a coma for 5 years) receive a brain transplant from a female character who was being killed off. Dr. Drake Ramoray was back, but with Jessica Lockhart's mind.* {{Villain}} Al Hawke returns to ''Series/BirdsOfPrey'' played by a different actor, his new face is explicitly the result of MagicPlasticSurgery to erase the scars of his burns from a previous episode. Unlike other examples, this doesn't explain why his personality, height, etc. all change between appearances, but hey.* ''JoanOfArcadia'' and ''Series/TheCollector'' where different actors play {{God}} & TheDevil, respectively. Lampshaded in the first example, where God points out that he/she/it is in reality, beyond all comprehension and so is simply taking AFormYouAreComfortableWith, one that's not always going to look the same. Sometimes they're [[DeadpanSnarker even snippy]], because it's what [[StealthInsult Joan understands]].* Two cases in ''Series/KamenRiderDenO'': When Hana's actress Yuriko Shiratori [[RealLifeWritesThePlot left the show for unknown reasons]], she was replaced by the much-younger Tamaki Matsumoto, and it was explained that [[TimeyWimeyBall her timeline had been rewritten]] to [[FountainOfYouth make her younger]]. When Ryotaro's actor Takeru Satoh moved on to other roles after the third movie, he was replaced with Takuya Mizoguchi (who previously played [[MyFutureSelfAndMe Ryotaro's younger self]] in the first movie), and the TimeyWimeyBall was again used to explain it. Interestingly, both Matsumoto and Mizoguchi bear a striking resemblance to their predecessors, a fact which becomes more pronounced as they [[SheIsAllGrownUp grow up]].* Played with in ''{{Dollhouse}}''. Many of the 'characters' are, or become, artificial constructs (imprints) that can be moved from body to body. Multiple actors interpret Topher, Dominic, 'Taffy', [[spoiler: Dr. Saunders, Clyde Randolf, 'Kiki', Margaret, the serial killer in 'Belle Chose', and Caroline]] in this way. Generally as much as possible is done to retain the voice and mannerisms of the original, with the exceptions of [[spoiler: Clyde and Dr. Saunders]], who change and evolve as they go along.** In particular, Victor was imprinted with Topher enough times to count as a recurring character.** In the post-apocalyptic episodes, [[spoiler: Ambrose and Harding]] are played by different actors than normal, explaining that they now jump bodies ("getting a new suit") regularly and have multiple copies of each other. The same thing was done to [[spoiler: Rossum founder Clyde]] when Rossum was first starting.* In ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'', Rita Repulsa was originally portrayed using stock footage of MachikoSoga as Witch Bandra from ''Series/KyoryuSentaiZyuranger'' (with Barbara Goodson dubbing her voice) until the beginning of Season 2 when she was shrunken and [[PutOnABus imprisoned inside a small space dumpster]] by [[TheManBehindTheMan her master]] Lord Zedd. When she returned to full size later during the same season (now played by Carla Perez in all new American-made footage), her servant Finster gave her a magical makeover in order to explain her different appearance.** Alpha 6's voice chip was damaged when the Power Chamber was destroyed at the end of ''Power Rangers Turbo'', necessitating a repair that gave it a new personality, a new voice and familiar mannerisms, also explaining away the voice actor switch from Katerina Luciani to Wendee Lee. Alpha 6 would get Other Darrined without explanation in ''Power Rangers Operation Overdrive'', where it is voiced by New Zealand-based American actor Campbell Cooley with a voice that sounded a lot more like Alpha 5.* In the ''Series/TheAdventuresOfSuperboy'' TV series Lex Luthor was Nth Doctored through plastic surgery while Superboy himself was Other Darrined.* In the Disney sitcom ''Series/WizardsOfWaverlyPlace''. Max is struck with a spell that turns him into a little girl and is replaced by said actress for five episodes until they managed to reverse the spell. * At the conclusion of the 10th season of ''Series/{{Dallas}}'', Victoria Principal chose to leave the series and as a result her character Pam was severely burned in a tanker explosion. Pam later reappeared in one episode two seasons later, now played by Margaret Michaels, with [[MagicPlasticSurgery some plastic surgery]] to explain the change in appearance.[[/folder]]

[[folder:{{Pinball}}]]* Used as a major gameplay mechanic in the ''Pinball/DoctorWho'' {{pinball}} game: The Master has effectively trapped six of the (then) seven Doctors in different places, and the Seventh must get them to safety in order to confront The Master, the Daleks, and ultimately Davros.[[/folder]]

[[folder:{{Radio}}]]* To replace the late Peter Jones in the Tertiary Phase of ''Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'', the guide receives an "update" during the first scene of the play. Thanks to some clever editing, the voice of the Guide changes in mid-sentence, and occasionally reverts back for a second, using recycled audio from the original series.* The first actor to play TheLoneRanger on the radio died tragically in a car crash. To further a) a seamless transition of the character and b) to keep young viewers from being freaked out by the Ranger's sudden vocal change, the producers decided to have the Ranger be struck mute for a few episodes before introducing the new voice of the Ranger, Brace Beemer.[[/folder]]

[[folder:VideoGames]]* In ''Franchise/DragonAge'', aside from still being voiced by Kate Mulgrew, Flemeth's valkyrie-esque appearance in the sequel is radically different from her old hag appearance in the first game. Justified as she's a VoluntaryShapeshifter capable of adopting AFormYouAreComfortableWith, as well as being able to possess people to prolong her life. However, a third possibility that she [[LampshadeHanging points out]] to Hawke, is whether or not her ''true'' form is even human anyway?--> '''Hawke''': Impressive, where did you learn how to turn into a Dragon?\\'''Flemeth''': ''[Laughs]'' Perhaps I '''''am''''' a Dragon?** It's also stated in the first game that she is also a {{Body Surf}}er, so appearance isn't really a big deal to her.* In ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'', when [[BadassGrandpa Heihachi Mishima's]] [[Creator/DaisukeGori old voice actor]] died and was replaced with [[Creator/UnshoIshizuka a new one]], they justified it in-universe by having Heihachi reverse his age with an experimental drug. This plot point is introduced in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and re-iterated in VideoGame/PlaystationAllStarsBattleRoyale and VideoGame/ProjectXZone for those out of the loop. It then seems strange to have elderly Heihachi with his new voice in VideoGame/StreetFighterXTekken.* VideoGame/StarOcean1: [[spoiler: Mavelle]] turns out to be [[spoiler: Ioshua's sister Erys, and if the player jumps through a certain set of hoops then she will join the party in her true form.]] Both forms are voiced by different actresses in both languages.[[/folder]]

[[folder: WebOriginal]]

* Webanimation/{{Eddsworld}}: A vocal example. Edd got zapped by a voice changer (held by Matt) at the start of Space Face: Part 2 to justify his VA's change, which happened due to Edd Gould's death. The character is now voiced by Tim Hautekeit.* WebOriginal/{{TimelordBlog}}: As the character appearing in the blog is the Doctor him/herself, the character goes through a regeneration whenever the Mun gets tired of that specific Doctor. So far, we've had twelve (Dave Strider), thirteen (Ritsu Tainaka), and fourteen (Mami Tomoe).* In ''Podcast/WelcomeToNightVale'', Carlos's change of voice actors is explained by his having replaced his own vocal chords to prevent throat spiders, which is apparently important for scientists to do.* {{Parodied}} in the ''Website/ClickHole'' article "[[http://www.clickhole.com/article/all-seinfelds-ranked-1748 All The Seinfelds, Ranked]]", which straight-facedly pays tribute to the various actors who supposedly played the character of Creator/JerrySeinfeld in various seasons, including John Cusack, George Lazenby, Kadeem Hardison ("the first black Seinfeld") and Louis C.K., among others. Also, in one season, the supporting cast is mentioned as "Elaine (Khandi Alexander), George ([=LeVar=] Burton), and Kramer (Eddie Murphy)", without further explanation.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: WebComics]]* The ''{{Insecticomics}}'' uses the trope mentioned below to justify characters being represented by new toys. The most major would be Dreadmoon's [[http://www.insecticons.com/insecticomics/tfcon2005.html upgrade to a repaint of Energon Mirage]] from a [[http://www.insecticons.com/insecticomics/troubleparadise1.html sculpted model]], although Starscream's gone through several new bodies as better toys for him have come out.* In ''{{Webcomic/Roommates}}'', because it's a MegaCrossover and has a whole cast of {{Living Dream}}s, when a different adaptation of the source material becomes more well known the powers of the universe[[note]]Namely ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve and ActorAllusion[[/note]] change the appearance of the characters. It's generally not permanent, though, as they are {{Composite Character}}s and by definition encompass all their portrayals. (They possess a ''very'' limited [[VoluntaryShapeshifting shapeshifting]][[note]]They must remain the same character and probably the version can't be too obscure either.[[/note]] ability thanks to this too.)[[/folder]]

[[folder:WesternAnimation]]* Autobots and Decepticons in ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' often upgrade, and occasionally mutate, into newer, more powerful bodies. While generally a [[MerchandiseDriven way to advertise new toys]], this is occasionally (though not usually) used to justify new voice actors:** When Megatron was rebuilt as Galvatron in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersTheMovie'', his voice changed from Creator/FrankWelker to Creator/LeonardNimoy. (Galvatron in the series proper was still voiced by Welker though, but with a slightly different pitch to differentiate the two.)** Scourge and Cyclonus had new voice actors instead of those of Thundercracker and... either of the two characters Cyclonus could be. (Long story.)** ''Beast Machines'' Jetstorm has a different voice than [[spoiler: Silverbolt]], because it'd ruin the surprise.** Creator/CaseyKasem, who is of Lebanese descent, left ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'' in protest over the stereotypical portrayal of an evil dictator of an Arab state called "[[UnfortunateNames Carbombya]]." As a result, Teletraan-1, which he voiced, was replaced with Teletraan-2, voiced by Frank Welker.* Retro-actively applied in ''WesternAnimation/{{Reboot}}'': at the end of season two Bob is sucked into [[EldritchLocation the Web]], and when he came back in season three, slightly degraded by his experience, he switched voice actor from Michael Benyaer to Ian James Corlett because the former was unavailable. When Benyaer became available again while producing season four they had him do the voice for Bob in a flashback, a second Bob (possibly the original, possibly a copy, [[spoiler:actually Megabyte]]), and [[spoiler:the real Bob after the damage done to him by the Web is repaired]], implying the different voice was caused by said degradation.* The third season premiere of ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'', "The Kids", has Gumball and Darwin's voices (both provided by child actor that were outgrowing the character) cracking extensively, leading them to [[GrowingUpSucks come to terms with becoming adults.]] At the end of the episode, their voices finally break even with new voice actors... who sound ''[[NotAllowedToGrowUp younger]]'' than they did before. They then realize they're part of the previously mention 1% of people in the world ("[[LeaningOnTheFourthWall most of them on TV]]") that don't age.-->'''Gumball:''' (enthusiastically) [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor We're stuck in these bodies for the rest of our lives!]]\\\'''Gumball and Darwin''': (enthusiasm dies) ... [[NotGrowingUpSucks yay?]]* {{Creator/Toonami}}, an action block originally on Creator/CartoonNetwork, now on Creator/AdultSwim, had robotic show host TOM 1.0, voiced by Creator/SonnyStrait, get destroyed by a massive alien blob... thing, and was replaced by TOM 2.0, voiced by Creator/SteveBlum. Subsequent versions of TOM, who's currently at version 5, and all voiced by Creator/SteveBlum, have not been explained however.